Kays Translations

Chapter 12: The encounter between the Shelgadians and Dwarf people.

She was so close that Kaito almost collided with her as soon as he turned around.

“Fuuu… Impressive, Kaito! To notice my approach, you truly are a man who inherits the blood of Leonardo!”

“Well, I’m happy to hear that, but… what were you doing behind me, Liz?”

“I saw you slouching lazily, so I thought I’d give you a little poke in the ribs. But because Kaito suddenly turned around, my nose bumped right into you. It kind of hurts, actually.”

In response to the still-red-nosed girl’s confession, Kaito gave a rather indifferent “Oh, I see.”

The girl, however, seemed to be in pain and softly muttered teary eyed. 

“I-it hurts…”

Ren couldn’t help but chuckle as he observed the situation.

“Are you okay?”

“I-I’m fine… This isn’t a big deal. It’s much better than Baba-sama’s training.”

“Training from the Arkei family seems strict too.”

“Humu, you knew about my family name?”

It wasn’t surprising that Ren knew her, considering she was born into a well-known lineage.

“Renowned heroes like Linou Arkei laid the foundation for modern magic education. Her name is written all over the textbooks.”

Linou Arkei was a magic user who, along with Hero Ruin, defeated the Demon King. Liz Red, even at her young age, was already an expert in magic. Her powerful magic abilities made her an indispensable member of the party.

In other words, she was one of the descendants of the Seven Heroes, too. Her name was Lizred Arkei.

Lizred nodded approvingly at what Ren had said.

“But this girl here, Charlotte calls her ‘little sister’ and uses her as a body pillow.”

“Hey, hey, hey! Please don’t use embarrassing nicknames for me in front of someone I just met! If you’re looking for a fight, I’ll take you on Kaito, even…!”

At first glance, it seemed like a girl being teased by older male students. 

Fortunately, the students who had been watching them closely since a while ago could only see them as friends playing around.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

During lunch break, Ren was unusually having a conversation with Radius at the school cafeteria.

They were drawing some attention, but the two of them didn’t seem to mind.

“So, she’s quite lively.”

“To think you’d encounter the Arkei family’s daughter so soon.”

“It’s not like we really ‘encountered’ each other. I just happened to be standing next to Leonardo-senpai.”

As Radius listened to Ren’s explanation, one corner of the cafeteria began to get crowded.

Kaito, Vane, and Charlotte, along with the rumored Lizred, had arrived at the cafeteria. It was no wonder that they were drawing attention, especially when the currently popular Vane was walking with members of other noble families.

They—or rather, Lizred—spotted Ren and immediately rushed over with an “Ah!”

However, her steps froze as she looked at Radius, seemingly frozen in place from nervousness.

“Radius, did you do something?”

“Why would I do anything? I’ve never even talked to her.”

Ren was obviously joking. He knew the reason. Lizred was just surprised when she saw Radius.

“I’ve already had my meal and I need to go to the library. I have to talk to the new staff member Mirei about work.”

“So, Mirei-san is part-time staff for situations like this?”

“That’s right. Sorry, but I have to go.”

“Got it. See you later.”

Radius indeed had a reason to leave, but he also did it to ease Lizred’s discomfort. After leaving his seat, he walked away by himself without paying any attention to his surroundings and exited the cafeteria.

Lizred hesitated for a moment, then slowly walked over to Ren. A few steps behind her, Vane and the others followed.

“I apologize for the commotion this morning.”

Lizred gave a small, polite bow, making it seem like the soft sound of her bowing could be heard.

“I am Lizred Arkei. As you already know, I am a descendant of Linou Arkei and a fairly great magician.”

Charlotte didn’t let that go unnoticed.

“Liz, aren’t you embarrassed to call yourself a great magician?”

“…That’s why I said ‘fairly great,’ didn’t I? Also, it’s a bit embarrassing when you point it out like that, so could you please not mention it?”

“Alright, alright. I’ll refrain from doing so in the future.”

“Good grief… Charlotte only grows physically. To become a lady who isn’t embarrassed no matter where she goes, consideration for others is also important, you know.”

“Can you trust me? I’m considerate of everyone except Liz.”

“That’s a strangely unsatisfying response… Let’s leave it at that for now.”

Their conversation ended, and Lizred regained her focus on Ren.

“I have a favor to ask of you, Ashton-senpai.”

Unusual. Or rather, Ren had been called by this name rarely since there hadn’t been close juniors before.

“A favor from me? By the way, did you know about me?”

“I have many reasons to know about Ashton-senpai, just as Ashton-senpai has reasons to know about me. Especially since our families have a strong connection… or rather, a feud!”

“…Is it because swordsmen like us who use star killer are like natural enemies to magicians?”

Star killer is a technique used by hard swordsmen to cut off even magic, making use of cloaking. Those who used star killer techniques were also skilled in swordplay, and for magicians who already struggled with close combat, they were nothing less than natural enemies.

“Yes, that’s it! It’s cheating!”

“Well, even if you call it cheating, the one who created that technique was the Lion King himself.”

“…Guh. Even I can’t say anything to the Lion King!”

Lizred didn’t want to voice any complaints about swordsmen. They had gotten slightly off-topic. She had something to ask Ren, and it was time to get back to the main topic.

“Well, you see…”

She began with a formal preface.

“On the upcoming holiday, would you like to go to Windea with us?”

“I wonder if I will go.”

Unexpectedly quick with his response, Lizred’s mouth fell slightly agape. It seemed she was deflated.

Her reactions were interesting, so Ren couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Why not!? Tell me why!”

“I already have plans for that time, sorry.”

“Ugh… P-plans…”

She seemed somewhat deflated.

Ren didn’t go into detail about the emblem with the crest.

“Then… I can’t force you, right?”

Surprisingly, Lizred gave in gracefully and turned her back to Ren.

She started walking away with large strides, heading out of the cafeteria.

“Let’s go, Kaito. We have the training we promised for lunch break!”

“Wait! Why do you think we came to the cafeteria? First, we should have lunch!”

“Oops… That’s right. Sorry.”

Amidst their lively exchange, Vane, next, turned to look at Ren.

“I’m sorry for the sudden request. I heard the rumors about you, and I thought it would be nice if we could go together.”

“I’m glad you think highly of my skills, but I’m sorry. Like I said earlier, I have plans too.”

“That’s alright. I also wanted to go with you, but it was a bad idea to make such a sudden request.”

Ren was planning to go to the same place as Vane and the others, but separate plans were more convenient, so there was nothing he could do about it. Even without going into details, they understood.

There should be one more member of the Heroic family in the special class of the first year who was not present here.

With this, all the descendants of the Seven Heroes were finally gathered at the academy. However, Ren didn’t feel the need to go out of his way to meet the last member. After all, they were all students at the same academy, and they were bound to meet somewhere eventually.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

After several test flights, the repairs to the magical airship Lemuria were deemed complete. In the dock of the floating garden, Verlich, with his right hand on his hip and holding a piece of paper with his left hand, showed it to Ren. It was after school on the day Ren met Lizred.

“’We hereby recognize Lemuria, and flying in the specified airspace is allowed.”

All the necessary checks had already been completed, and now they had permission to fly in the skies of Leomel for purposes other than test flights.

The use of the magic airship port involved dealings with various cities, but that was the responsibility of Lessard-sama since it involved negotiations with various local lords and officials. 

Some exchanges had already been made without any issues.

“So, Lemuria is fully operational again!”

It looked the same as when Ren saw it the other day, but today, Lemuria appeared more magnificent.

Ren stared intently at the permit that Verlich had thrust forward. Next to him, Ragna, who had come with him to this place, was looking at Lemuria with great interest.

“I’ve heard rumors about this. They said there was a ship that became unusable because of some foolish royalty, and this is that Lemuria. It’s even more magnificent than I imagined.”

“Oh, oh! You’ve got a good eye, young man!”

“Yes, it’s very beautiful. When I think that my dragon vein furnace is being used on this ship, it doesn’t feel bad at all.”

“Hmm? Was that dragon vein furnace yours?”

“That’s right. It was given to Ren as a reward, but it turned out to be much more useful than I imagined. It’s commendable.”

While Ren was reading the permit, the two strangers struck up a conversation nearby. Both of them had somewhat difficult personalities, but even though they were unconventional individuals, their compatibility seemed decent.

This happened after Verlich and Ragna had introduced themselves to each other.

“Verlich-san, we would like to ask if you can take us somewhere during the upcoming long weekend. Is that okay? We have Lessard-sama’s permission.”

“Sure thing! We can fly wherever we want now!”

Ren gave Ragna a sidelong glance and left the explanation to him.

“Ren received a Crested Emblem from me. I could have provided a magic airship, but it seems that Lemuria has better performance, so we were discussing if we could use this magic airship for our trip. Would that be acceptable?”

“Oh, I see… Well, with just any magic airship, you wouldn’t stand a chance.”

It wasn’t just confidence. It was a firm belief that they wouldn’t stand a chance with any other magic airship.

“That’s fine. Please continue.”

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